‘The Crow’ Flies To August, Halle Berry Pic ‘Never Let Go’ Sets Fall, ‘Saw XI’ To Slice 2025, ‘Best Christmas Pageant Ever’ Earlier – Lionsgate Release Date Changes

Anthony D'Alessandro
·3 min read

EXCLUSIVE: In advance of its big slate presentation tomorrow here at CinemaCon, we’ve caught word from exhibition sources that Lionsgate is making a few release-date changes.

First of all, its anticipated reboot of The Crow from director Rupert Sanders and starring Bill Skarsgård is moving from June 7 to August 23.

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On its new date, The Crow will go up against Amazon MGM’s Zoë Kravitz’s feature directorial debut, the suspense thriller Blink Twice, as well as Sony’s Kendrick Brothers’ faith-based title The Forge.

The Crow, based on the original graphic novel by James O’Barr, follows soulmates Eric Draven (Skarsgård) and Shelly Webster (FKA Twigs), who are brutally murdered when the demons of her dark past catch up with them. Given the chance to save his true love by sacrificing himself, Eric sets out to seek merciless revenge on their killers, traversing the worlds of the living and the dead to put the wrong things right. Danny Huston also stars.

Standing alone among studio wide entries June 7 is Sony’s Bad Boys: Ride or Die.

Lionsgate and Twisted Pictures’ Saw XI is still in development to make it perfect and will move out of its September 27 release date to September 26, 2025. Oren Koules and Mark Burg produce. The franchise through 10 movies has amassed north of a $1 billion in box office.

Taking over Saw XI‘s release date of September 27 is another genre movie, the Halle Berry title Never Let Go, from director Alexandre Aja and producers Shawn Levy, Dan Cohen, Dan Levine and Aja. Blurb for the psychological thriller: As Evil takes over the world beyond their front doorstep, the only protection for a mother (Lionsgate’s Monster’s Ball Oscar Best Actress winner Berry) and her twin sons is their house and their family’s protective bond. Needing to stay connected at all times – even tethering themselves with ropes – they cling to one another, urging each other to never let go. But when one of the boys questions if the evil is real, the ties that bind them together are severed, triggering a terrifying fight for survival. Never Let Go, executive produced by Berry and Holly Jeter, remains the only studio wide entry on Sept. 27-29.

(L-R) Judy Greer, Sebastian Billingsley-Rodriguez, Molly Wright and Pete Holmes in ‘The Best Christmas Pageant Ever’
(L-R) Judy Greer, Sebastian Billingsley-Rodriguez, Molly Wright and Pete Holmes in ‘The Best Christmas Pageant Ever’

Shifting a week earlier from November 15 to November 8 is Lionsgate/Kingdom Story’s feature take of The Best Christmas Pageant Ever. The shift is to give the family movie, which is in the spirt of a A Christmas Story, more play-week fire during the holiday season. Dallas Jenkins directs and co-adapted the feature take of Barbara Robinson’s classic book of the same name. The pic was also adapted by Darin McDaniel & Platte Clark and Ryan Swanson. Judy Greer, Pete Holmes, Elizabeth Tabish and Lauren Graham star.

The movie follows the Herdmans – absolutely the worst kids in the history of the world. But this Christmas, they’re taking over their local church pageant, and they just might unwittingly teach a shocked community the true meaning of Christmas.

There are no wide releases on November 8. Best Christmas Pageant Ever leaves behind Amazon MGM’s Christmas movie Red One, starring Dwayne Johnson, Chris Evans and J.K. Simmons.

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